Tackle box



April 13, 1954 H. C. BERRY TACKLE BOX Filed Sept. 7, 1949 graff en? Uff@ I i l i Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UN IT ED` STATES PAT ENT OFFICE TACKLE BOX' Herbert- C Berry, Chicagotilll.

Annlicationiseniember 7, 1949, SerialNb..1`14;370`

2 Claims; l:

This invention relates to4 carrying boxes which may be used for various purposes butwhichV are particularly intended for fishing tackle, and is of the character of the Tackle Box of my Patent No. 1,859,228. In View of the acttliat various articles of iishing tackle including lures, bait or the like, have become very numerousV and. expensive, the owners are particularly desirous of having boxes which will safely and securely hold the various articles and will not be apt to spill the contents.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved" tackle box Which-will be neat and attractive in appearance and which will have means actuated by the handlefor securely fastening or locking the-cover and't other parts in closed position.

Other objects and advantages will appear more fully from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of my improved box With the cover shown in open position;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View showing the cover in closed position and the trays in normal carrying position;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the top tray; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the cover in locking or fastening mechanism.

My improved carrying receptacle has a body or box portion proper IG with a cover II hinged thereto at I2. The box has a plurality of trays I3 and M which are connected together and to the body and top by suitable linkage I5 such as heretofore used for this purpose. The linkage is such that when the cover is closed, the trays will be superimposed or nested in the box with the bottom tray resting on brackets or supports I6 secured to the ends of the box as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Various means have heretofore been proposed for locking or fastening the cover and trays in closed position by means of the handle, but such means have not proven entirely satisfactory.

One of the particular features of the present invention. is the novel arrangement for utilizing the handle for interlocking the parts of the box together whereby they will be securely held and the cover is not apt to become inadvertently loosened. For this purpose, the handle I 1 is provided at the ends with short trunnions I8 which are pivotally mounted in channel-shaped bearings or pivot members I9 which are riveted or otherwise secured to the cover II. The ends of the trunnion or pivot members IB are. provided with* hooks 1 or.l catchesv 201` which` extend` inwardly through slots `l I inthe cover. The extreme ends orengagingportions 22. ofthe hooksare bent upwardlyr` at @slightly more than which provides re+entranti angles 2 3sas shown in Fig. 5. The top tray: IMI" has twoinvertedchannels 24' which are securedfthereinby welding orriveting. The tops ofth'ese: channels have:4 slots 25- for receiving the hooks2Il.. Thetops ofthe channels are also providedorrithein lower: faces with elongated spring catchesf or detents 26 which are secured` thereto atitheir` outer ends `byfrivets 2l. The free ends of.4 these. spring-1 catches are` preferably curved downwardly asrshown at 28` andi these Vends project a sufficient distance beyond the ends of the slots 25 to permit the hooks to engage therewith.

This arrangement is such that if the cover is closed with the handle in raised position, the projecting ends of the hooks will merely depress the spring lcatches without any jar on the engaging parts. When it is desired to fasten or lock the cover, it is closed With the handle in depressed position as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5, and then the handle is raised which will cause the hooks to engage with the detents of fastening members 26. The upward bending of the engaging ends 22 is such that 'when the handle is raised, the hooks tend to slightly raise the ends of the engaging members so that the curved ends will engage with the reentrant angles of the hooks. This will tend to hold the handle securely in raised position and will prevent inadvertent loosening of the cover which might otherwise cause spilling of the contents. When the box is to be opened, the handle is again swung to depressed position which will free the hooks and permit the raising of the cover. The provision of the channels 24 in the top trays tends to strengthen the construction and to provide particularly rigid and. effective locking means to coact with the handles. As will readily be seen from Figs. 2 and 5, the left hand end of the tray Ml lies closely against the inner wall of the cover and the adjacent upper edges lie closely against the inner surface of the cover. For this reason, when the handle is raised and the hooks 2t pressed against the ends of the catches 2E, the upper corner portion will impinge against the inner corner of the cover and be locked closely thereagainst. It will thus be seen that the cover and upper tray are locked together when the handle is raised and the upper tray is held by the linkage in fixed posi tion with respect to the lower tray and the body I0. Any lifting strain placed upon the handle 3 when in such lockedposition merely tends to hold these parts closely together and to hold the cover from opening. Applicant, as well as others, has for many years made boxes for shing tackle, or the like, having trays which are raised by action of the cover through suitable linkage similar to that described herein. These boxes have had rf rfom one tray up to a plurality of trays, practically the `only diiference in construction being that the cover for a single tray will be of less height or merely suicient to cover the single tray.

While I have shown a preferred form ofimy invention, it will be noted that the box may be provided with any desired key lock .(not shown) and may otherwise be changed to accommodate different articles of tackle `or tools without departing from the invention as set forth in the following claims.

' Iclaim: Y

1. A box or chest comprising a body portion, a cover hinged to one side of the body portion, a handle pivotally mounted in bearings on the cover, hooks on said handle which project through slots in the cover, a plurality oftrays mounted in the box; actuating links connecting said trays with the box and with the cov-er, the uppermost tray having inverted channels with slots in the tops thereof, resilient lcatch members secured in the channels and extending beyond the ends of the slots, the arrangement being such that the hooks will depress the ends of the catch members whenY the cover is closed with the handle in raised position, but will pass the ends of the catch 4 members when the cover is closed with the handle in lowered position, whereby the hooks will engage the catch members to fasten the parts together when the handle is raised.

2. The combination with a tackle box having a body with a cover hinged thereto, of a plurality of trays mounted in superimposed positions in the box, actuating linkage connected with the box, the trays and the cover for raising the trays when the cover is opened, inverted channels mounted in the top tray and having slots in their upper web portions, resilient catches having the ends secured to said web portions and extending beyond the ends of the slots, a handle pivotally mounted on the cover and provided with hooks which extend inwardly through openings in the cover and which are adapted to engage withsaid catches for fastening the cover and trays in closed position, the parts being so arranged that if the vcover is closed with the handle in carrying position, the hooks will depress the ends of the catches and such that if the cover is closed. with the handle in lowered position, the hooks will engage with said catches for fastening the parts together when the handle is raised.

References Cited in the lle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,859,228 Berry May 17, 1932 1,882,756 Boynton Oct. 18, 1932 2,341,308 Berry Feb. 8, 1944 2,361,079 Berry Oct. 24, 1944 2,374,037 Piker Apr. 17, 1945 

